tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post7179723153163465569..comments2015-03-03T18:54:40.536+00:00Comments on separated by a common language: topping oneself, topping and tailinglynneguisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10171345732985610861noreply@blogger.comBlogger41125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-25036229890736503832014-04-22T21:23:00.262+01:002014-04-22T21:23:00.262+01:00Massachusetts age 25-
I had no trouble with that ...Massachusetts age 25-<br /><br />I had no trouble with that headline. <br /><br />Until I read the article I&#39;d have no clue as to which stat it referred, but it&#39;s clear he set some sort of personal best.<br /><br />Note of course that this is sports lingo, AND headlinese both of which are notoriously slangy.<br /><br />One of my favorites in that regard was a local paper&#39;s &quot;No-No is No Go for Nomo&quot; referring to then Red Sox pitcher Hideo Nomo allowing only one hit in a win against the Toronto Blue Jays May 2001.<br /><br />A more transparent headline would have been &quot;Lin scores career high&quot;<br /><br />I haven&#39;t looked at your book besides its title but I am amused, bemused and embarrassed to have initially misread antonyms as autonyms, another fascinating area, albeit a less broad one.Albert Welchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02138260302522477243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-12481175032684268952012-05-15T11:55:17.192+01:002012-05-15T11:55:17.192+01:00Br E , b 1950, midlands
-Topand tail for babies ,...Br E , b 1950, midlands <br />-Topand tail for babies , yes, stillused , in my youth considered a little hmm for polite company, more women together?/informal?/familyonly ? language<br />NB babies-either sex- and smalls had/have tailends.<br />-to top and tail veg- often given the chore<br />-2 kids sharing one narrow bed with head by feet and viceversa I remember<br />as top TO tail <br /><br />Also Remember , (about the same register as &quot;keep your &#39;and on your ha&#39;penny&quot;, see youtube) a shared ladies exmusicalhall song of raffish connotation, but you&#39;d never be able to prove it, except for th way they sang it,:<br />&quot;Just a liittle bit off the top <br />will do, for me, ( x2)<br />Saw /other verbs me off an inch or two<br />and I&#39;ll tell you when/where to stop<br />ALL I WANT IS<br />a little bit off the top&quot;<br /><br />I would wonder exactly what , but not in general, what &quot;topping himself&quot; meant, and evidently, be wrong.<br />-pub Barmen friend of mine, 60s, thrown by a Scot asking for a &quot;bo&#39;ol to&#39;od&quot;-<br />he meant an open bottle of beer, to be drunk at the bar from the bottle , no glass: a &quot;bottle topped&quot; This is also a very USA custom- what&#39;s it called stateside?Mike Cliffsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06405021835510775527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-51856029373090984522012-03-26T21:57:08.423+01:002012-03-26T21:57:08.423+01:00In a sporting context: I have heard - very occasio...In a sporting context: I have heard - very occasionally - a (BrE) commentator saying something like &#39;she bested her current record&#39;. So &#39;to best oneself&#39; could be a feasible alternative here, although I think it usually refers to combat, where one&#39;s enemy is &#39;bested&#39; or vanquished.biochemistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-76010054058686492342012-03-08T23:09:49.692+00:002012-03-08T23:09:49.692+00:00For those suggesting mischief, laziness or embarra...For those suggesting mischief, laziness or embarrassment at the NYT, I can assure you that no average American would interpret this as anything other than what was meant. So it works just fine for its intended audience.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-17074529451106005332012-03-07T02:33:27.212+00:002012-03-07T02:33:27.212+00:00I suspect either mischief-making or laziness at Th...I suspect either mischief-making or laziness at The Times. The headline writer was not pressed for space, often the (more or less) valid for strange word choices.John Burgesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11979918255430186425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-70674045298264348862012-03-06T23:11:10.800+00:002012-03-06T23:11:10.800+00:00Kayla
How about to top something off? Is that the...Kayla<br /><br /><i>How about to top something off? Is that the same in BrE? </i><br /><br />That depends on what it means in AmE. The only transitive sense given in the OED is<br /><br /><i>To fill up to the top (a tank already partly full) with fuel. U.S. colloq.</i><br /><br />I think most BrE speakers would say <i>fill it up</i>. We might say <i>top it up</i>, but that is much more often used for filling glasses to the top with drink — or filling accounts to the top with money.<br /><br />There are intransitive senses of <i>top off</i>, but the OED considers them variants of <i>top out</i> — itself a pretty uncommon two-word verb.David Crosbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01858358459416955921noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-63639862218007741822012-03-06T21:17:00.930+00:002012-03-06T21:17:00.930+00:00How about to top something off? Is that the same i...How about to top something off? Is that the same in BrE? OR it also means to kick the bucket?Kayla Madsenhttps://twitter.com/#!/MadsenKaylanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-36271135807190973272012-03-06T11:14:16.874+00:002012-03-06T11:14:16.874+00:00Harry Campbell wrote: &gt;&gt;in practice in the B...Harry Campbell wrote: &gt;&gt;in practice in the British press it would be something much more oblique and probably involving the obligatory punning: Linn &quot;reaches for the skies&quot; or &quot;soars to new heights&quot; or something.&lt;&lt;<br /><br />Far worse than that, I&#39;m afraid. Something like &quot;LIN-CREDIBLE!&quot;.Kevinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-26791949349709443512012-03-06T01:53:04.738+00:002012-03-06T01:53:04.738+00:00@David Crosbie is right of course, in practice in ...@David Crosbie is right of course, in practice in the British press it would be something much more oblique and probably involving the obligatory punning: Linn &quot;reaches for the skies&quot; or &quot;soars to new heights&quot; or something. Even leaving aside the unfortunate double meaning, &quot;Lin tops himself&quot; is probably just too banally straightforward for a British headline.Harry Campbellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01675794936870568336noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-41476257676251129572012-03-06T01:16:47.509+00:002012-03-06T01:16:47.509+00:00As an American musician living in England, I can t...As an American musician living in England, I can testify to the musical usage described here by others. I do, though, still read &quot;topping oneself&quot; as bettering one&#39;s own previous record (AmE).Eshanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-85186850479933085382012-03-05T19:57:40.171+00:002012-03-05T19:57:40.171+00:00Harry Campbell
Or, maintaining the spacial metaph...Harry Campbell<br /><br />Or, maintaining the spacial metaphor,<br /><br />LIN GOES HIGHEST YETDavid Crosbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01858358459416955921noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-74814811816893267122012-03-05T16:32:30.254+00:002012-03-05T16:32:30.254+00:00I think a suitable BrE equivalent might be &quot;L...I think a suitable BrE equivalent might be &quot;Lin outdoes himself&quot;. Not a very snappy headline though.Harry Campbellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01675794936870568336noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-58315823369550044892012-03-05T16:24:41.671+00:002012-03-05T16:24:41.671+00:00AmE - my first reaction to that headline was also ...AmE - my first reaction to that headline was also &#39;huh?&#39; as well. I agree with (anon below David Crosbie). <br />My first thought was &quot;with what?&quot; and more along the lines of pancake toppings, though now that I think about it, it would have made more sense to add which particular stat it was that he improved over his previous career record (by scoring 28 points). So then the &#39;tops something&#39; goal could be achieved - &#39;Lin tops himself with 28 points&#39; - better but I still get the reading of physically pouring 28 points on his head, but more context is always better.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-48654298974225004422012-03-05T13:37:07.099+00:002012-03-05T13:37:07.099+00:00To me, top and tail means either the vegetable tri...To me, top and tail means either the vegetable trimming or two kids sharing a bed.<br /><br />&#39;Top oneself&#39; is suicide.<br /><br />&#39;The tops&#39; is rather Enid Blyton.Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06148992289166413933noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-90424893884829630792012-03-01T15:06:10.259+00:002012-03-01T15:06:10.259+00:00My experience (BrE) agreed with those who were sho...My experience (BrE) agreed with those who were shocked by the headline. Even if &#39;top&#39; could be used in other ways as a verb, the meaning with a reflexive is so strongly linked to suicide, that it prevails over any other possible sense.<br /><br />Incidentally, what does BDSM stand for?Drunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-60634252478452164112012-02-29T23:32:47.152+00:002012-02-29T23:32:47.152+00:00richardelguru
There&#39;s a fine version of the...richardelguru <br /><br />There&#39;s a fine version of the song by Jumbo Brightwell under the title <i>Muddley Barracks</i> on <a href="http://www.mymatedavedevelopment.co.uk/topic/?p=244" rel="nofollow">this CD</a>.<br /><br />His last verse — like that of other versions — involves <i>mutton</i> and <i>Wouldn&#39;t I cut &#39;n</i> rather than <i>tarnips</i>.<br /><br />There&#39;s an odd but sweet relay version by two girls who may really be from Norfolk on <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXC8hnc4s68" rel="nofollow">this video</a>. Their last verse is different again.David Crosbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01858358459416955921noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-23732943077993970762012-02-29T23:17:24.097+00:002012-02-29T23:17:24.097+00:00@David Norris: the AmE usage of &quot;tops&quot;=&...@David Norris: the AmE usage of &quot;tops&quot;=&quot;at most, maximum&quot; is very common.<br /><br />E.g.: &quot;five minutes, tops&quot; gives over a million Google hits.<br /><br />&quot;Take one moment--five minutes, tops--and read this article&quot;Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-69169995731917846632012-02-29T17:26:47.987+00:002012-02-29T17:26:47.987+00:00top and tail:
There&#39;s an old folk song from t...top and tail:<br /><br />There&#39;s an old folk song from the part of East Anglia where I was born, <i>Bungay Roger</i>, which has a line where the rather reluctant &#39;sojer&#39; laments, &quot;I wish I ware back on the farm topp&#39;n&#39; tail&#39;n&#39; tarnips with a busted owd fork an&#39; a rusty owd knife&quot;...<br />Sorry for the bad norfolk accent :-)<br />tarnips = turnips; owd = oldrichardelguruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00839486187041394826noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-38168331794254272712012-02-29T13:39:58.770+00:002012-02-29T13:39:58.770+00:00We also used to use top and tail to mean two kids ...We also used to use top and tail to mean two kids sleeping at opposite ends of the same bed when I was a kid in the UK. And for the veg as well!Carolinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08763731021284150152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-13468459485832591192012-02-28T12:11:25.947+00:002012-02-28T12:11:25.947+00:00Off-topic, strictly speaking, but a true story.
...Off-topic, strictly speaking, but a true story. <br /><br />X has a house on a hill with a nice view. Y owns some land at the bottom.<br /><br />&quot;That pine tree of yours has gotten taller and it&#39;s obstructing our view now. Would you mind if we have it topped?&quot;<br /><br />&quot;Sure, go ahead.&quot;<br /><br />So X pays a guy to come with ropes and saws and carefully remove the highest six feet or so. And then the tree dies.Øhttp://voidplay.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-29387755286957916672012-02-28T09:16:45.064+00:002012-02-28T09:16:45.064+00:00I hope this isn&#39;t inappropriate, but it&#39;s ...I hope this isn&#39;t inappropriate, but it&#39;s illustrative so I&#39;ll take the chance.<br /><br />I&#39;m another American living in England, one who participates in the BDSM scene. The usual word on the US west coast for the person who runs the scene, gives the commands, causes pain, and so forth, is the &#39;top&#39;. In England I&#39;ve heard &#39;master&#39; or &#39;dominant&#39; instead. The US verb is &#39;to top [someone]&#39;. This caused tremendous amusement the first time I used that verb with an English bottom in negotiating a future scene. Fortunately he didn&#39;t think I was actually going to kill him.<br /><br />Once we worked out what he found so bloody funny, I started laughing as well and reminded him of the scene from Father Ted: &#39;When I said &quot;take care of&quot; the rabbits, I was thinking in a...Julie Andrews kind of way. I now realise you thought I meant it in sort of an Al Pacino way.&#39;Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-23009020692254144452012-02-28T05:16:33.050+00:002012-02-28T05:16:33.050+00:00Ø: &quot;Can you top this?&quot; is a stock phras...Ø: <i>&quot;Can you top this?&quot; is a stock phrase in AmE, but it seems to me that you don&#39;t top someone, you top something they did.</i><br /><br />It&#39;s implied that he&#39;s topping something he did.EKnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-34848535080081466812012-02-27T23:38:06.577+00:002012-02-27T23:38:06.577+00:00&quot;Top and tail&quot; seem to be a railroading ...&quot;Top and tail&quot; seem to be a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top_and_tail" rel="nofollow">railroading term</a> as well.Øhttp://voidplay.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-24281465417520488882012-02-27T20:07:13.758+00:002012-02-27T20:07:13.758+00:00When we were young we used the term &quot;topping ...When we were young we used the term &quot;topping and tailing&quot; to refer to sharing a bed, one child at each end!Seanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00542573715991884244noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-15842578787942209642012-02-27T18:57:01.695+00:002012-02-27T18:57:01.695+00:00I (BrE) would definitely read &quot;tops himself&q...I (BrE) would definitely read &quot;tops himself&quot; as committing suicide. To the point where I would say to someone else in the room with me, &quot;Oh dear, so-and-so has killed himself&quot; and then have to retract it once I&#39;d read the article.<br /><br />And yes, for me, &quot;topping-and-tailing&quot; can be done to vegetables and babies!Mrs Redboots (Annabel Smyth)http://www.blogger.com/profile/11270027663691257254noreply@blogger.com